Fuel cells continue to garner significant research efforts as a nonpolluting power source for automobiles and other vehicles, as well as portable and stationary electronic devices. Polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs), to be commercially viable, must permit a high rate of proton conductivity while undergoing minimal degradation under the harshly oxidizing operating conditions of the fuel cell over a wide temperature range. Existing ion-conductive polymers are not practical for use in fuel cells because they either decompose or do not conduct ions well at high temperatures.